Justice News

Romanian National Pleads Guilty To Naturalization Fraud

BOISE – Simona Rus, 36, of Ketchum, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to unlawful procurement of United States Citizenship based on her fraudulent marriage to a United States citizen, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement filed in the case, Rus admitted that, in 2003, she married a U.S. citizen for the sole purpose of obtaining immigration benefits. Rus never resided with her spouse as husband and wife. In January of 2009, Rus misrepresented the nature of her marriage in an application for naturalization to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In May of 2009, USCIS granted Rus naturalization as a United States citizen as a result of her fraudulent marriage. As part of her plea agreement, Rus stipulated to an order revoking her citizenship.

Rus faces up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release, in addition to administrative removal proceedings.

Rus is scheduled to be sentenced on February 10, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).